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From the President's Desk
April 2009
Hard Times
by Russell Wild

A traveling salesman's car breaks down in the country. He gets out and walks three miles to the closest farm. He knocks, and a farmer answers. "Excuse me," says the salesman, "Could you help me? My car broke down, and I need a place to stay for the night."

"Certainly," says the farmer. "I have two beautiful daughters, and their bedrooms are just upstairs." The salesman grins as he nears the front door. "As it happens," continues the farmer, "both girls are away at college, so you could stay in either room."

The salesman spins on his heels and starts back to the main road. "Hey, where you going?" asks the farmer.

The salesman responds, "I think I'm in the wrong joke."

The economic downturn, the shriveling of the publishing industry, and the plummeting balances of our IRA accounts have left many of us feeling like we're in the wrong joke. It seems like just yesterday that our IRAs were fat and happy and the dot-com explosion was creating so much work that hardly a day would pass without a new assignment.

How times change.

It's tough enough getting assignments these days, but increasing numbers of writers are having a hard time collecting from publishers that find themselves, often just like us freelancers, squeezed by hard economic times.

What to do when you've done the work and the only thing you've gotten back is, "The check is in the mail"?

I asked Sallie Randolph of Buffalo, New York, a longtime AJSA member and an attorney specializing in publishing matters, this very question.

First thing, says Sallie, is to try the diplomatic approach. Phone or email and gently (at first) state your right to be paid. Be simple and straightforward, and focus on the fact that the work has been done, and that you and the publisher had an agreement. Be businesslike. Stay calm. Be cool.

If that doesn't bring results, get squeaky. "The squeaky wheel is often the first to get paid," says Sallie. That means repeating your demand, and perhaps—perhaps, depending on how much you value your relationship with the publisher, and how much time has passed—ratcheting things up to the next level.

A letter from ASJA might help. Contact ASJA's Grievance Committtee at ASJA.org Clearly explain your contractual agreement. Give exact dates. Provide ASJA permission to use your name and discuss your case with the client. We will then let the publisher know via letter that non-payment may land the publisher on our Warning List.

(Note: The ASJA Grievance Committee has a new chair, Gregory Cook, and he is currently reexamining the process by which our organization will be working with writers to handle problems with editors.)

Next step: Consider legal action. "Don't threaten legal action, just do it. You want that to hit them like a bolt out of the blue," says Sallie.

Legal action may mean small-claims court. You will need to sue in the state in which the publisher is based. Yes, that generally means making an appearance, although a few jurisdictions may allow for phone-conference arguments. Call the court to find out. State limits vary as far as how much you can sue for. It could be as much as $15,000 (in Delaware), or as little as $1,500 (Kentucky). If your claim exceeds the state limit for small-claims court, you can either lessen your claim, or you many need to go to a higher level of court where lawyers practice their art. The ASJA office may be able to refer you to a good lawyer.

Of course, even if you get a judgment on your behalf, you may still not collect. Even the power of the courts cannot get blood from a stone.

The best way to assure yourself of getting paid, and paid on time, is to work with publications that have the means to pay you and a track record for making good on their agreements. Read the PayCheck column and the Warning List in the ASJA newsletter. (Ed. Note: Available only to members) Talk to other writers. Make sure your contract clearly spells out the terms of payment. In the absence of a formal contract, make sure that you have at least something in writing. In these hard times, your longtime editor may be gone tomorrow, in which case, a written agreement might save you. And register your articles with the copyright office as soon as they appear in print.

ASJA is currently investigating a new membership benefit that may lower your odds of getting stiffed: We may soon be able to help you dig into a publisher's credit history.

Sometimes, however, no matter how carefully you line up your ducks, and no matter how hard you press, an occasional client will probably fail to pay. I lost a bundle when Success magazine, to which I was a contributing editor, folded after 100 years in business. (How ironic is that?) Some bad debt is a cost of doing business—any business, says Sallie, and you can't go crazy over it.

Like the traveling salesman, we can hope for the best, but fate simply doesn't always cooperate.

ASJA President Russell Wild lives in Allentown, Pennsylvania, a state with a fair number of farmers (some with daughters, and some without) and a small-claims court limit of $8,000.